Rechargeable batteries manufactured from laminates of solid polymer electrolytes and sheet-like anodes and cathodes display many advantages over conventional liquid electrolyte batteries. These advantages include having a lower overall battery weight, a high power density, a high specific energy and a longer service life, as well as being environmentally friendly since the danger of spilling toxic liquid into the environment is eliminated.
The components of a solid polymer electrochemical cell include positive electrodes, negative electrodes and separators capable of permitting ionic conductivity, such as solid polymer electrolytes, sandwiched between each anode and cathode. The anodes (or negative electrodes) and cathodes (or positive electrodes) are made of material capable of reversible insertion of alkali metal ions. The polymer electrolyte separators electrically isolate the anode from the cathode to prevent short circuits therebetween, which would render the electrochemical cell useless.
The cathodes are typically formed of a mixture of active material capable of occluding and releasing lithium, such as transitional metal oxides or phosphates, an electronically conductive filler, usually carbon or graphite or combinations thereof, and an ionically conductive polymer binder. Cathode materials are usually paste-like and require a current collector, usually a thin sheet of electrically conductive material such as aluminum foil. The anodes are typically made of light-weight metal foils, such as alkali metals and alloys, typically lithium metal, lithium oxide, lithium-aluminum alloys and the like. The anodes may also be composite paste-like material comprising, for example, carbon-based intercalation compounds in a polymer binder, in which case the anode also requires a current collector support, preferably a thin sheet of copper.
Composite cathode thin films are usually obtained by solvent coating onto a current collector or by melt extrusion. Similarly, the polymer electrolyte separator layer is typically produced by solvent coating or by melt extrusion.
Solid lithium polymer electrochemical cells are typically manufactured by successive layering of the positive electrode, the electrolyte separator and the negative electrode. The positive electrode material is initially coated or extruded onto a metallic foil (for example aluminum) or onto a metallized plastic film, which serves as a current collector. The polymer electrolyte separator is thereafter preferably coated or extruded directly onto the previously coated cathode material and the negative electrode is finally laminated onto the electrolyte to form an electrochemical cell. To increase the energy density of an electrochemical cell, a bi-face design is preferred wherein positive electrode material is laminated, coated or extruded onto both sides of the current collector.
Electrochemical cells as previously described are assembled in an offset pattern: the metallic anode or negative current collector extends from one side of the electrochemical cell, while the cathode current collector extends from the other side of the electrochemical cell. The electrolyte separator (or separators in the case of bi-face designs) is positioned in between the anode and the cathode but does not extend the entire width of the electrochemical cell because a portion of the metallic anode or negative current collector on one side and a portion of the cathode current collector on the other side must remain exposed for lateral collection of current (i.e. to allow for connection in parallel to other electrochemical cells and to the positive and negative terminals of the electrochemical generator of which it is a constituent of). The exposed anodes and cathodes may in some circumstances touch each other when the electrochemical cells are assembled and pressed together, resulting in a short circuit which renders the cells useless. Short circuits may also occur through misplacement or misalignment of the various layers of the electrochemical cells or through misplacement or misalignment of a stack of electrochemical cells.
To alleviate this potential problem, U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,684 disclosed the addition of an insulating band of polypropylene or other plastic material between the exposed ends of the anode and the cathode current collector, for the sole purpose of eliminating potential short circuit. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/876,567 (publication No. US2002/0197535A1) discloses a variant of the same concept, in which an insulating edge material is coated or extruded at the end of the cathode material to prevent a potential short circuit between the exposed ends of the anode and the cathode layer. U.S. Pat. No. 5,670,273 discloses a method of fabricating electrochemical cells, wherein the successive anode and cathode layers are separated by a polymeric electrolyte layer having a protruding polymer edge that reduces the likelihood of inadvertent contact between the anode and cathode current collectors.
The above described solutions all fulfill their purpose, however at the cost of either adding steps to the manufacturing process of the electrochemical cells or having protruding separators that hinder proper parallel connections of the current collectors and may cause potential weight penalties.
Thus, there is a need for an electrochemical cell configuration that prevents inadvertent short circuits between the anode and cathode, as well as for a reliable method and apparatus for the production of electrochemical cell sub-assemblies for lithium polymer batteries.